Page 59 of Hers to Kiss
“I’m not going, Mom.”
“Not going?” Bertie said with surprise.
Pete kept his eyes on his mother. “I’ve got a company interested in my designs. My phone app that I’ve been working on? It’s going to be big, Mom. They’re flying me out to Silicon Valley next week.”
Bertie gasped. His mother smiled. “I always knew you’d turn out okay. Never doubted. You’re just not your father, and that’sokay. Silicon… You’re going to be rich!”
Pete laughed. “It hasn’t happened yet, Mom.”
“Oh, tush. They’re flying you out. They are courting you, and don’t you forget it. Get a job out there while you’re at it. Then I want you to call me from your expensive condo that overlooks the ocean. Will you do that for me? Will you send me pictures of the ocean?”
“He’ll be too busy studying.” Titus’s voice came from the door. With a stone-like face, he walked in as his equally inexpressive gaze took in his wife in the bed.
The doctor came in from behind him. “I’m assuming this is everyone?”
“Judith? What’s wrong with my wife?” Titus’s voice rose. He faced the doctor with hands on hips.
“She’s suffering from an aggressive cancer.”
“Cancer?” Titus whirled.
Pete stood quickly, shielding his mother.
“She’s weak today, but her vitals are steady,” the doctor continued. “I’m afraid to say that…it is terminal.”
“Doctor says I have a couple of weeks at the most,” she said.
“Oh, Mom!” Bertie threw herself onto the bed, weeping against her mother’s chest.
Mom just wrapped her arms around Bertie and rubbed her hair, whispering into her ear.
“Weeks?” Titus repeated. His gaze vaulted between the doctor and his wife.
“It’s all right, Titus,” Judith said. “I got to see my babies grow up; that’s what’s important. I won’t be there for weddings and grandchildren, but I know you three will be okay.”
The doctor exited the room. Titus took a seat opposite the bed, his gaze on the floor.
Judith’s gaze moved from Pete to Titus. Her encouraging smile bolstered Pete’s confidence.
“Dad, I’m not going to Cornell,” he said bluntly. Titus didn’t look up. “Warp Entertainment is flying me out next week to discuss a contract for my phone app.”
“It’s going to be worth millions,” Judith added with a chuckle. “Can you believe it, Titus?”
“They’ve hinted at giving me a senior developer job,” Pete continued. His father’s silence enabled the words to flow. Finally it was out in the open.
“Picture it, Titus. Our boy working in Silicon Valley! Ah… I wish I could be there with you, Peter. See the ocean, see the shiny building you’ll be working in.”
Pete chuckled. “I don’t know if it’s shiny.”
“It’s Silicon Valley. Of course it’s shiny.”
“You’re going to Cornell,” came Titus’s strained voice. He stood, his gaze intense. “You’re going to live the life I never got to.”
“Titus!” Judith cried.
“No, Mom.” Pete squeezed her hand. “It’s okay. Dad, I am living the life you never got to. It’s just not the one you want me to live. I’m doing things my way,” he said with emphasis, a finger pointing to his chest. “I’m not you, never will be. I’m an app developer and really good at it, too. Maybe I’ll go to college one day, or maybe I won’t. But at least the decision will be mine.”
“You’ll be living your dream,” Judith said wistfully. “That’s all we can ask.”
